Grand Jury of Cole County, Missouri
January Term 2012
About the Grand Jury
The grand jury, as an instrument of justice, serves an important role in the American
judicial system at both the federal and state levels of government. At the federal level, its
importance cannot be understated: the federal government, through its prosecutors, must
present any serious criminal case to the grand jury and is barred by the United States
Constitution from proceeding with prosecuting that case unless it first secures an
indictment from the grand jury. An indictment formally announces that the grand jury has
charged a particular person with a particular crime, for the grand jury has probable cause
to believe that the person committed the crime.
An institution influenced by Athens and pre-Norman England, the founding fathers
of the United States accepted the grand jury as a basic guarantee of individual liberty – it
functions as a barrier to reckless or unfounded charges against individuals, protecting
against capriciousness, arbitrariness, and oppression. The grand jury ensures that serious
criminal accusations will be brought only upon the considered judgment of a
representative body of citizens acting under oath and under judicial instruction and
guidance.
Cole County is one of the few counties in the state of Missouri to use the grand jury,
and it has done so for most of the last 25 years. Cole County’s grand jurors actually only
hear a small number of the cases that are handled by the Cole County Prosecuting
Attorney’s Office. The grand jury’s purpose in Cole County is essentially the same as the
federal grand jury: the Cole County Prosecuting Attorney generally presents serious felony
cases to the grand jury for their consideration. When the prosecutor presents his case, the
12 grand jurors listen to the testimony, ask questions, and consider evidence like a judge
would during a preliminary hearing in associate circuit court, even though the grand jurors
are not as bound by the rules of evidence and procedure as the court is. The grand jury, like
the court, is impartial and pledges not to implicate some because of prejudice or free others
because of special favor. Grand juries operate in secret, under the direction – but not
control – of a prosecutor. If nine (9) of the 12 Cole County grand jurors find from the
testimony heard and evidence presented that it is probable a crime has been committed
and a particular person has committed that crime, they will issue an indictment against
that person, which will command their presence in Cole County Circuit Court.
Report of the January Term 2012
The Grand Jury of Cole County, Missouri, concluded the January Term 2012 at the
end of June and returned 160 indictments (known as True Bills) against defendants, all of
which contained felony counts except for one (a misdemeanor case which originally
contained a felony charge when submitted for the grand jury’s consideration), and six (6)
No True Bills, meaning that no indictments were issued in those six instances.
Approximately 225 persons appeared before the grand jury, either under subpoena or on a
voluntary basis, to testify and answer questions asked by the grand jurors.
Indictments were issued for felony and misdemeanor counts in these categories:
Offenses against the person: 46 counts for which indictments were issued.
Types of felony offenses for which defendants were indicted: murder in the second degree,
involuntary manslaughter, assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, assault
in the second degree while driving while intoxicated, domestic assault in the second
degree, felonious restraint, harassment motivated by discrimination, felony violation of an
order of protection, interference with custody, endangering a corrections employee, and
committing violence on a corrections employee.
Offenses against the family: 3 counts for which indictments were issued. Types
of felony offenses for which defendants were indicted: endangering the welfare of a child
and abuse of a child.
Sexual offenses: 2 counts for which indictments were issued. Types of felony
offenses for which defendants were indicted: child molestation in the first degree and
statutory rape in the second degree.
Offenses related to controlled substances: 116 counts for which indictments
were issued. Types of felony offenses for which defendants were indicted: possession of a
controlled substance; possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute;
distribution, delivery, or sale of a controlled substance; trafficking drugs in the second
degree; distribution of a controlled substance near government housing; and sale of an
imitation controlled substance.
Stealing and related offenses: 60 counts for which indictments were issued.
Types of felony offenses for which defendants were indicted: stealing, forgery, receiving
stolen property, and fraudulent use of a credit device.
Related property offenses: 24 counts for which indictments were issued.
Types of felony offenses for which defendants were indicted: robbery in the first degree,
burglary in the first degree, robbery in the second degree, burglary in the second degree,
and arson in the second degree.
Offenses affecting public order and safety: 9 counts for which indictments
were issued. Types of felony offenses for which defendants were indicted: felony driving
while intoxicated, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, making a terrorist threat,
and driving while revoked.
Offenses against the administration of justice: 9 counts for which indictments
were issued. Types of felony offenses for which defendants were indicted: tampering with
physical evidence and resisting arrest.
Taxation and revenue related offenses: 1 count for which an indictment was
issued. Defendant was indicted for failure to file state income tax return.
Weapons offenses: 9 counts for which indictments were issued. Types of felony
offenses for which defendants were indicted: armed criminal action, unlawful use of a
weapon, and unlawful possession of a weapon.
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Report of the Grand Jury of Cole County, Missouri
January Term 2012, Page 2